


Additive Inverse

by draculard



Series: Nightthrawn 15 Day Ficlets [4]
Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Ficlet, Funeral, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mathematics, standalone ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29454960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: Eli could still remember the sight of Thrawn sitting opposite him, his uniform half-off, his feet propped up on the table as he pored through data on Nightswan’s latest movements. They’d never spoken more than absolutely necessary on those nights; nothing important had ever happened, and Eli shouldn’t have been able to remember them at all.But still, he remembered them.
Relationships: Nevil Cygni | Nightswan/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Series: Nightthrawn 15 Day Ficlets [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158710
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Additive Inverse

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 4 Prompt, "Opposite."
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr, I'm draculard there too

Eli never saw Nightswan’s body, but he could still remember the easy confidence with which he moved, the effortless way he switched from one persona to the next to meet his goals while still retaining the core of who he was — even if, for so many years, Thrawn had been the only one to see it. 

There had been sleepless nights when he was still in the Empire, nights he spent in Thrawn’s quarters with insomnia making his eyeballs itch. He could still remember the sight of Thrawn sitting opposite him, his uniform half-off, his feet propped up on the table as he pored through data on Nightswan’s latest movements. They’d never spoken more than absolutely necessary on those nights; nothing important had ever happened, and Eli shouldn’t have been able to remember them at all.

But still, he remembered them. He remembered glancing up, catching the hard determined cast of Thrawn’s eyes as he fought off sleep in pursuit of Nightswan — the stubborn weariness that clung to his frame, that he pushed through relentlessly, determined to press on. 

Nightswan’s body had been found on the perimeter of Batonn. Eli knew that much. A nameless Rebel dying in a war he could never hope to win, mourned by nobody except his own rival, a man equally brilliant and just as honorable working for the opposite side.

Eli shook the memories away. He stared down at Thrawn’s face — eyes closed, expression peaceful. His cheekbones and jaw showed more clearly now than they had ten years ago, when Eli saw him last; he looked tired, almost fragile. Broken-down. Even now, he wore the uniform of a Grand Admiral, representing a military that had died at Endor five years before.

Numbers were Eli’s strong suit. Where Thrawn had a passion for art, he had a passion for mathematics. He was all too familiar with the additive inverse: a number and its opposite, when added together, always equaled zero. 

He brushed Thrawn’s hair back and stepped away, allowing his men to close the lid of the casket.

Nightswan wasn’t the only one who’d died for a lost cause. In the end, without ever meaning to, he and Thrawn had canceled each other out.


End file.
